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==Personal Life==
==Personal Life==
For nearly 35 years, Huttner and husband Richard Miller resided in Chicago. Late in 2012, the couple relocated to Brooklyn, New York<ref>{{cite web|title=Amazon.com: Jan Lisa Huttner|url=http://www.amazon.com/Jan-Lisa-Huttner/e/B007102L1I/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0|accessdate=02/11/2013}}</ref> . The couple has two cats.
For nearly 35 years, Huttner and husband Richard Miller resided in Chicago. Late in 2012, the couple relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where Richard is now employed by SUNY Downstate Medical Center<ref>{{cite web|title=Amazon.com: Jan Lisa Huttner|url=http://www.amazon.com/Jan-Lisa-Huttner/e/B007102L1I/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0|accessdate=02/11/2013}}</ref> . The couple has two cats.





==References==
==References==

Revision as of 17:01, 3 March 2013

Jan Lisa Huttner (born December 10, 1951) is an award-winning American film critic, journalist and activist. Huttner has authored numerous columns for both independent and prominent publications that include: DVD Wolf, The Huffington Post, JUF News, World Jewish Digest, Reel Chicago, and WomenArts[1] . She belongs to both state and national branches of The American Association Of University Women, the Illinois Women’s Press Association(IWPA), and is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association [2] . Huttner also serves as managing editor of Films42.com, a website that she and her husband, Richard Miller, created in 2000. Her blog, “The Hot Pink Pen” (AKA: Penny) is devoted entirely to reviewing films by women filmmakers, and Huttner’s book, “Penny’s Picks: 50 Movies by Women Filmmakers 2002-2011”, is considered a “must read” by serious movie buffs – regardless of gender.

An outspoken advocate for women artists, particularly in cinema, Huttner conducts interviews with prominent female screenwriters and directors with the goal to heighten the exposure of female filmmakers. She is also known for her role in the inception of the WITASWAN (Women In The Audience Supporting Women Artists Now) initiative, a grassroots movement designed to bring attention to women artists all over the world. Huttner was also one of the main proponents of Jane Addams Day, which was officially adopted by the State of Illinois on Dec 10th, 2007.


Early Life And Career

Jan Lisa Huttner was born on December 10, 1951 at the Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, NJ to parents Eddie Huttner and Helene [Hecht] Huttner. The family moved to Livingston, NJ, in 1960, where Jan had her Bat Mitzvah at Temple Beth Shalom in 1964, and graduated from Livingston High School in 1969[3] .

After receiving her B.A. from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland (aka the "Great Books School") in 1973, Huttner subsequently earned two masters degrees in Psychology: one from Harvard University and another from the University of Chicago[4] .

While working on her Ph.D. at University of Chicago (where she was a member of the Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science), Huttner took a part-time job at the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was eventually asked to serve as Coordinator of Training for one of UCMC's first large computer conversions. For nearly 20 years after this, Huttner traveled the U.S.A. working as a healthcare computer system consultant (first at Coopers & Lybrand, then KPMG Peat Marwick, then Superior Consultant Company) before turning the page to her new careers as a film critic/feminist activist in 2002.

Moving Into Film Criticism

Huttner has said her topics of study in her education would shape in her interest and approach to cinema.

“How does a self develop? How do we grow? How do we learn? Those are the things I look for in movies – things that I find personally and intellectually satisfying”[5].

Huttner most extensively looks at films from a feminist point of view, often breaking films down into a political perspective. In 2000, Huttner, along with husband Richard Miller, established Films For Two: The Online Guide For Busy Couples, a website themed on directing couples to good movies in a busy world, so they can avoid wasting time and money on bad films[6] . The site features “movie haikus” – short summaries of Huttner and Miller’s opinions on each film, accompanied by each of their ratings. The site also features contributions from both guests and interns.


WITASWAN and International SWAN Day

Huttner also played a key role in the creation of the grassroots Internet movement known as Women In The Audience Supporting Women Artists Now, or WITASWAN. It all started when a June 2002 piece in the New York Times[7] caught Huttner’s attention. The article, authored by Dana Kennedy, focused on the “The Celluloid ceiling” – a term coined to describe the disproportionately smaller percentage of women in the film industry compared to men. In her article Kennedy implied that women were fewer in numbers in the film industry due to sidetracking themselves with things like motherhood and domestic life[7] . The piece both outraged and inspired Huttner, who began by writing a letter to the New York Times[8] [9]. Huttner then collaborated with other AAUW-IL members to create an initiative to push more female filmmakers to the forefront, by energizing female moviegoers and alerting them to the presence of many female filmmakers throughout the world. After presenting a workshop at the 2003 AAUW-IL convention, Huttner gained the support of other AAUW-IL members; thus, WITASWAN was born. The initiative also spawned a holiday, International SWAN Day (Supporting Women Artists Now), which has been annually celebrated worldwide since March 30th, 2008[10] .


Role In Jane Addams Day

Huttner has cited the Nobel Prize-winning activist Jane Addams as one of her key influences. When five 8th grade students from Dongola, IL sought to give Jane Addams an official holiday in 2005, AAUW-Carbondale president Leila Marvin encouraged them to lobby for the holiday to be officially recognized by the state[11] . Huttner and other AAUW-IL Members quickly threw their support behind the students. Huttner’s admiration for Addams and avid support for the holiday came easily because, among many other achievements, Addams founded both the IWPA and AAUW. In May of 2006, then-governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation officially declaring December 10th “Jane Addams Day”[12] , making her the first woman to have a commemorative day in the United States[13] . Subsequently, since 2007, Huttner herself “becomes” Jane Addams on December 10th, donning early 20th century attire to deliver (in Addams’ dialect) an IWPA-sponsored presentation to a new audience each year[14] .


Huttner also successfully campaigned for the Louise Bourgeois’ commemorative Addams sculpture series “Helping Hands” to be removed from storage. Badly damaged since their original 1993 unveiling, the Helping Hands were re-created and are now on display near the Clarke House Museum. On September 2011, Huttner appeared in her Addams persona in honor of the newly relocated statue[15] .


Slumdog Millionaire Campaign

Early in 2009, Huttner made national headlines when she launched an online campaign questioning the Oscar Nominations of the 2008 sleeper hit Slumdog Millionaire. Though widely recognized as a Danny Boyle film, Indian casting director Loveleen Tandan had been asked by Boyle to step up from her casting director duties, ultimately ensuring authenticity of the film’s India-set sequences. For her efforts she received the highly unique credit of “Co-Director: India”. However the film’s Best Director Academy-Award nomination solely recognized Boyle, which Huttner felt was unfair. An a Wall Street Journal article, Huttner elborated:

"If she's co-director during the filmmaking and marketing process, why isn't she co-nominee when the awards are passed out?"[16].

Tandan herself responded by distancing herself from the campaign and claimed she had no interest in sharing the nomination with Danny Boyle. However, Huttner would subsequently state the campaign’s real purpose was to expose the rarity of female directors being recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences[16] .


Penny’s Picks

In late 2011, Huttner published her first book. “Penny’s Picks: 50 Films by Women Filmmakers 2002-2011”, a compilation of 50 of Huttner’s reviews from various publications. The book focuses on her top-rated films that involve female screenwriters and directors. The book’s chapters are arranged in according to rating, with the highest rated films coming first. The book also contains forewords by both Huttner and WITASWAN co-creator Martha Richards providing an overview of WITASWAN and International SWAN Day plus a brief timeline called "10 Years in the Pond." [17] .

Awards

Jan's first award came from the LHS Home & School Association when she received the Social Studies Departmental Award at her Livingston High School graduation in 1969. In 1973, she received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship when she graduated from St. John's College. (She used it for a year of travel in Israel and Iran to study "the concept of Cultural Deprivation.) At the University of Chicago, she received a John D. Searle Foundation research grant in 1980. And at Superior Consultant Company, she won a "Hit the Ground Running" plaque for outstanding achievement in 1998.

In her role as an activist, Huttner was named one of "One Hundred Women Making a Difference in the 90s" by Today's Chicago Woman. She has received Silver Feather Awards (aka Writer of the Year) on three separate occasions by the Illinois Women’s Press association, in 2005, 2006 and 2010[18] . In 2005, she also received a first place certificate for "Best News Writing for the Web" from the National Federation of Press Women.

In 2012 to mark both the 5th Anniversary of International SWAN Day and the 5th anniversary of Jane Addams Day, Huttner received the Agent Of Change Award from AAUW-Illinois[19] .

Personal Life

For nearly 35 years, Huttner and husband Richard Miller resided in Chicago. Late in 2012, the couple relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where Richard is now employed by SUNY Downstate Medical Center[20] . The couple has two cats.

References

  1. ^ Gold, Marion. "Penny's Picks Press Release" (PDF). Retrieved 02/11/13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Huttner, Jan. "Jan Lisa Huttner Shesource.org". She Source. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Huttner, Jan. "LHS Class of 69"". Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ "Jan Lisa Huttner". Shesource.org. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Gold, Marion. "Jan Lisa Huttner A bio of an award–winning film critic, author and feminist activist whose goal is to mobilize audience support for creative women in all media" (PDF). films42.com. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ Huttner, Jan. "Website FILMS FOR TWO Targets "Busy Couples": Couple Learns that Men and Women Really Do Watch Movies Differently". films42.com. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ a b Kennedy, Dana. "FILM A Frustrating Sisterhood". The New York Times. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ Isaacs, Deanna. "Chicks For Flicks/You Talk, We'll Pick". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ Huttner, Jan. "What's WITASWAN". The Hot Pink Pen. Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ Huttner, Jan. "SWAN". Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ Bud, Red. "AAUW-Illinois Applauds New Sate Day Honoring Jane Adams". Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ Bud, Red. "AAUW-Illinois Applauds New State Day Honoring Jane Addams". Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ Huttner, Jan. "AAUW-Illinois Applauds New State Day Honoring Jane Addams". Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ McGrath, Bonnie. "Meet Jane Addams". Retrieved 02/10/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ McGrath, Bonnie. "Meet Jane Addams". Chicago Jounral. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. ^ a b Jurgensen, John. "The Co-Pilot Of Slumdog Millionaire". The New York Times. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. ^ "Amazon.com". Amazon.com. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "-2010 Silver Feather Award Winner Jan Lisa Huttner-". Illinois Women's Press Associatio. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ Marden, Jeffrey. "Jan Lisa Huttner Named 2012 Agent Of Change by AAUW-Illinois" (PDF). Films42.com. Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "Amazon.com: Jan Lisa Huttner". Retrieved 02/11/2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)



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